Philip Edwin Marie, known to all as PEM, is a feature of the Caudan Waterfront, in Port Louis. He’ll be there, as always, in front of the Blue Penny Museum, breathing life and shape into old pieces of wood.
PEM was a labourer, more than forty years ago, when he fell upon a random piece of root from a tree. He picked it up and chiseled away until it revealed the work of art hiding underneath.
“That day, without knowing it, an artist was born,” says PEM.
At first, what others saw was a madman. But soon enough, the magic radiating from his fingers won over the people around him. The self-made artist, with no formal notion of art, allows instinct and emotions to guide him.
“I have never copied anything. Everything is natural. I just allow my passion for wood to express itself. I only treat the wood with wax, to keep it as it is,” he explains.
Growing into his new vocation, PEM sculpts figurines, jewel boxes and decorative objects. His craft catches the eye of hotel manager Jean Michel Pitot, who provides him with space in his establishment. PEM will spend 18 years there.
Even after all these years, the artist remains attached to his creations. He considers each unique piece as his children.
“I always kiss my work before letting it go with a piece of myself and my love…”
Sculpting thoughts
In the hands of PEM, a simple root can take the likeness of Nelson Mandela. He only needs a picture to bring to life the faces of famous thinkers in wood from the guava tree, mango tree, eucalyptus tree or tecoma tree that he finds here and there. You can see him at work from Monday to Saturday, between 06.00 and 18.00.
